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• United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Kremmling Resource Area 1116 Park Ave. P. O. Boz 68 Kremmling, Colorado 80459 iii iiiiiiiiniiiiii 999 ~~~a~ W REPLY REFER TO: BLM: COC2793I DMG: C-81-026 Mr. Jerry Koblitz Greystone 5990 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Suite 250 Englewood, CO 80111 Dear Mr. Koblitz: MAR 2 5 1996 • . .... RFI"i=11/Fn ~ 2 6 1996 Division of Minerals S Geology ..w We have reviewed your informal request to decrease the final reclamation shrub density standazd for the Canadian Strip Mine. The current shrub density standazd for the mine is 2000-stems per acre. The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is willing to see a reduction of the density standard down to whatever shrub density exists at the mine site at final bond release. The latest survey indicated a shrub stem density of 497 stems per acre. A shrub density of approximately 500 stems per acre will meet our land management requirements for the following reasons: 1. The post mining land use on the BLM lands will be livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. From a livestock grazing standpoint, a decreased shrnb density is optimal for the production of livestock forage. An increase in forage at the mine site will reduce grazing pressure on the surrounding range lands. From a wildlife perspective, a stand of tall grasses also provides habitat for insects, a food requirement for sage grouse. 2. The replacement of a sagebrush community with grasses and forts will help the mine site return to return to its pre-grazing setting. The dense, surrounding sage brush community has developed partially as a result of a hundred years of grazing pressure. 3. A healthy grass and fort watershed erodes less and contributes less sediment than does a sage brush community. 4. The mined area, including the Marr mine to the north, is relatively small compared to the vast expanse of sage brush community in the azea. It is also anticipated that no coal mining will ever occur in North Park again. Therefore, coal mining will no longer continue to reduce the shrub community as it has in other larger mining areas. 5. The BLM is actively engaged in thinning sage brush communities to increase biodiversity, increase forage, and improve watershed health. 6. There is no doubt, that with renewed livestock grazing on the mine site, shrub density will gradually increase over time and will eventually meet the current shrub standard of 2000 stems per acre.